Japanese Knotwood

 Visit #1603, Saturday 6 June 26, 6:00-8:15AM, 3.6 miles, 1.0 lbs of litter.

Temps in the upper 50s, sunny and moderately humid.

Last week  I mentioned helping a neighbor begin the removal of a Japanese Knotwood infestation in his back yard. I recalled seeing something similar in Hubbard Park but never had a second thought about what it was; I thought it was a typical plant and not the invasive weed it is. Now I know better.

And as promised last week, here are photos of the stands of Japanese Knotweed in Hubbard Park.

On the left it is across from the little outbuilding near the water treatment plant.

This stand is on the Soap Box Derby track.

And this stand is across from the retention ponds.

To educate yourself on Japanese Knotweed you can reference THIS information from the University of Connecticut.

During last week's hike I overlooked some graffiti I spotted two weeks prior. I took advantage of a bike ride during the week to make up for my daydreaming.

Here it is in mid-erasure, which took all of 30 seconds. The finished product is non-existent, if that makes any sense.

On that same ride I picked up the trails and found some more of our vandal's red hearts. Those are numbers 12 and 13 for this year. In addition, I found Cat Graffiti #s 35 and 36 since November 2016.

The cut tree ends you see are from a fallen tree I removed from the trail in April 2026.

Here's everything dutifully covered.

Keeping with the "red heart" theme, I removed this sign from a tree. I wonder who it's intended for...

Crossing over I-691 via the walkbridge, I discovered Antifa visits Hubbard Park.

I spied some new survey markers on Hubbard Park land adjacent to West Main Street. I did not disturb them. If I recall, there was talk at one time of constructing soccer fields on this land. I wonder if the markers and the soccer fields are related.

I removed Foam Sticker #26 of 2026.

I also found Cat Graffiti #37 since November 2016, and covered it.

All that removal stuff might seem depressing so I hope I can redeem myself with the following:

The Halfway House is in need of its mid-summer trim. I'll pass the suggestion on to the parks department.

Last week the Meriden Soap Box Derby Club held an event. The parks department supplied trash cans.

As of my hike one week later, they were not removed.

While these two were close by and would easily remind parks workers to remove them...

...this trash can all by its lonesome was further up the track and likely to be forgotten. It cried for company.

I introduced them to each other.

Another Meriden Soap Box Derby event is scheduled for later in June. 

While doing research for this blog entry I learned the Meriden Parks Department's web site has a handy link showing all the facilities available and the ability to request a reservation. Very nice; the parks staff is to be complimented for their effort.

A Calm Saturday - NOT!

 

This was a day of opposites; the sky and water were turbulent while trail activity was mellow. Sort of.

Visit #1602, Saturday 30 May 26, 6:25-8:45AM. 4.4 miles, 3.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 40s, very breezy and clearing from overnight showers.

I started my hike on the trail behind the daffodils and was quite surprised to encounter a raccoon, which I only noticed when I heard a high pitched, low volume hiss. Raccoons are usually nocturnal so at first I thought it might be rabid, then guessed it may have given birth and was protecting its babies. My second suspicion turned out to be right.

I considered taking a photo of the raccoon but I am hardly as talented as St. Francis of Assisi, and I immediately moved on whereupon -

- I picked up my Find of the Week.

Up and over the highway I hiked, and further up, to the road to Castle Craig. But I walked the road down, and picked up litter along the way.

Reaching the sharp curve at the bottom of the road, I found, and removed, Cat Graffiti #34 since November 2016. I imagine the "artiste" is trying to make them difficult for me to remove since I had to precariously stand on a guardrail to reach it.

And speaking of counts and removals, add Foam Sticker #25 for 2026.

This weekend I helped a neighbor remove a stand of Japanese Knotweed. Until this week I had never heard of this aggressive, difficult to remove weed so I had to study up. Only then did I realize there is a stand of it IN HUBBARD PARK, down by the retention ponds. I'll have to photograph it soon.

My neighbor was sorely lacking in accurate information (and patience) on how to eradicate this. I gave him a lot of homework to do, and a bottle of weedkiller.

Wring Me Out

 

'Twas a wet one on Sunday.

Visit #1601, Sunday 24 May 26, 6:45-9:10AM, 5.6 miles, 8.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 50s, steady rain.

Yes; I checked the weather. This Memorial Day weekend was to be a washout but the rain would not start until Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately I had other duties which occupied my Saturday so, I prepared for rain on Sunday and made the best of it.

Walking around Merimere Reservoir I picked up this hat hanging on the guardrail. Looking at it I can understand why someone would want to forget it.

As I left the road to follow the trail, I discovered the Meriden Water Department FINALLY replaced the lock I put on the gate in January 2025!

You may recall all the blue ribbons I removed from trees along the hiking trail near this gate. Well, this week I found a few replacements, and I also noticed some trees marked as if they were destined to be harvested.

Looking at a GIS map ("GIS" stands for Geographic Information System) I presume the land is part of Hubbard Park. If this is a logging project, which city department authorized it? Back around 2000 the parks department tried something similar and it was stopped after a public outcry against logging within Hubbard Park. I'll contact city officials and see if I can get an answer.

Exiting the trail I took a short side trip to the radio towers. It's a little known fact that one of the first FM broadcasts in the nation took place at West Peak around 1939 while FM broadcasting was in its experimental phase. The antenna tower, although no longer used, still stands. Look closely and you can see the foot pegs needed to climb the tower (really just a pole).

In the photo below, courtesy of wdrcobg.com you can see the tower in the background.

Here is what the antenna looked like when the station was in operation.

Other historic photos of the West Peak site can be viewed HERE.

I returned to the park and went home to dry out.

Times Two

 

Calendar-wise, it's still spring. But it sure felt like summer.

Visit #1599, Tuesday 12 May 26, 6:00-6:50PM, mileage and litter n/a.

Temps in the 60s, mostly sunny.

Visit #1600, Sunday 17 May 26, 6:00-9:00AM, 5.0 miles, 5.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, rising to the 80s today, sunny.

Knowing what I know about one (of multiple) graffiti vandal in Hubbard Park and their recent activity, I thought there might be more unsightly trail markings to be found so I set out on my mountain bike earlier in the week for some exercise and trail maintenance.

I'm sure more than one can of red spray paint was used as I found dozens of trees and rocks marked. I could not cover all of them with the time I had.

I found at least a couple hearts.

I also found something tucked into a tree.

I took it home and inspected it.

Now, I don't know who they are referring to; the person painting the trails red, or me covering over the red markings. They need to clarify who they are addressing. 😉

Between Tuesday's ride and Sunday's hike, I found and removed Cat Graffiti #s 32 and 33 since November 2016.

On Sunday I hiked the remainder of the red painted trails to cover whatever markings I missed on Tuesday.

This sweater I found looks to be in serviceable condition so I'll wash it and donate it to Goodwill.

I followed the trail of red and completed covering all that was left, including two more hearts.

Nailed to a tree was this warning sign.

The message reads:

Which makes me wonder; is Porky Pig loose in Hubbard Park?

Done with painting duties I hiked uptrail to the road to Castle Craig. Enroute I picked up my Find of the Week.

Mounjaro has two approved uses. Why this injector was found far from settled areas will remain to be pondered.

I exited the trails and walked the road back to the park. Once at the parking lot and with some time to kill, I decided to police the playscape and adjacent area. Most of today's litter was from there.

It was at this time that the best part of my day occurred. While I was cleaning up inside the playscape, a gentleman parked his truck and brought his granddaughter to the playscape. He told me it was her reward for behaving. He thanked me for cleaning up the area and here's the cool part: With him he had a trash grabber and was planning to clean up the playscape while his granddaughter played, except I put a dent in his plans. How neat is that (his plans, not my dent)?!

During our conversation I learned everything but his name: He is a lifelong Meriden resident who lives on Winthrop Terrace and had nothing but positive things to say about the city. He said he has adopted one of the islands on Winthrop Terrace, has planted things there, and mows the grass. Later on Sunday I took a bicycle ride to see for myself and since he told me his house number I was sure I was looking at the correct island. Definitely looks different than the other islands on the street. Your opinion may vary, but he gets an "A" for effort.